Jessica, 16, was riding in a car being driven by a friend when the friend rolled the car. Jessica was taken to the ER with immediate complaints of back pain, but it went untreated. Over time, the pain became more severe and an MRI was performed, showing a disc herniation referring down her leg. Because of her age, it was obvious that the injury was from the roll-over crash.

The insurance adjuster from Jessica’s father’s insurance did not agree that the back injury was sustained in the roll-over crash and declined to pay the medical bills. A no-fault arbitration was commenced. The insurance company still denied payment of the bills. A hearing ensued and all of the medical bills were awarded at the hearing and a second claim was made against the insurance company of the vehicle that Jessica’s friend drove. A policy limit settlement of $30,000 was reached. Another claim for underinsured coverage was presented to Jessica’s father’s company and they were forced to pay the policy limits of $100,000, even though Jessica never had surgery.

At a later date, Jessica was involved in another car crash. Her previous non-surgical injury was exacerbated and she required spinal fusion. Even though the crash happened in Florida, Partner Steve Terry was able to secure another policy limit settlement that paid the bills and compensated Jessica for her aggravated back injury.